Skip to main content

Smith family papers

 Collection
Identifier: 0335

Collection Scope and Content

Of the 261 files in the Smith Family papers, the majority are the papers of three Smith women. Series one contains materials pertaining to Marion Howard Smith (the central figure in the collection, 1849-1910). Series two consists of materials related to Marion Stuart Smith and series three is devoted to papers of daughter-in-law Susan Smith, including correspondence, legal and financial documents, playbills and photographs and illustrations. Series four gathers together correspondence, photographs and other materials related to other Smith family relations, including Christine Louise Smith (1869-1902), Harold Joseph Emerson Smith (1877-1942), Henry Mellen Prentiss (1840-1906) with a few files from Marion Howard Smith's birth family members‑her father, Daniel M. Howard (1816-1895) and her brother, Frederick Howard (1840-1899).

Dates

  • 1878-1935
  • Majority of material found within 1885-1898

Creator

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Curator of the Maine Women Writers Collection.

Biographical/Historical Note

Marion Howard Smith was born in Bangor, Maine, the fourth child of Eliza Anne and Daniel Mosely. Besides her two brothers, she had a sister, Blanche Willis Howard, who went on to a distinguished career as a writer and is well represented in the Maine Women Writers Collection. In 1866, Marion Howard married into the family of the former governor of Maine, Samuel Emerson Smith of Wiscasset. Marion married the governor's son, Benjamin Fuller Smith and had four children: Howard Bainbridge, Christine Louise, Marion Stuart and Harold Joseph Emerson. Benjamin Smith died in 1885 and Marion subsequently married Henry Mellen Prentiss in 1901. Henry died in 1906 and Marion died in 1910.

Her papers hold numerous letters to and from her children and a good collection of invoices which give evidence to her lifelong concern with money. Marion Stuart Smith (her daughter, b. 1871) was an actress and her collection is highlighted by her theatre memorabilia and delightful letters with her male and female friends in the theater. The third woman well represented in the collection was the daughter-in-law of Marion Howard Smith, a writer named Susan Smith (1882-1934).

Extent

3 linear feet (250 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

This collection is organized into 4 series, with subseries: I. Marion Howard Smith, 1891-1904; II. Marion Stuart Smith, 1887-1929; III. Susan Smith, 1917-1935; IV. Other Smith Relations, 1886-1902

Custodial History

Folders 1-91 were the 1994 gift of the Baxter Society. Folders 92-322 were purchased in 1993 and 1994.

Related Materials

Blanche Willis Howard collection, Maine Women Writers Collection, University of New England Libraries, Portland, Maine

Marion Smith Lowndes collection, Maine Women Writers Collection, University of New England Libraries, Portland, Maine

Kate Vannah collection, Maine Women Writers Collection, University of New England Libraries, Portland, Maine

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Smith family papers, 1878-1935
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for uncoded script

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Maine Women Writers Collection Repository

https://library.une.edu/mwwc/
Contact:
Abplanalp Library
University of New England
716 Stevens Avenue
Portland Maine 04103 United States